CULLMAN, Ala.- Closing out another 20-win regular season under head coach Stu Stuedeman, Cullman’s varsity boys hosted Hanceville on Tuesday night. After honoring the second-winningest senior class in school history before the game, an all-senior starting five trotted out to tip it off. The Bulldogs played as well as a team could in their situation, keeping it within the realm of possibility for a comeback at halftime, but the Bearcats slammed the door on that early in the third, running away with a 62-30 victory.
Opening scoring, Colt Fletcher hit a pair from the charity stripe, which was quickly answered by a Drake Bentley three for the Bulldogs. Cullman heated up from deep shortly after, rattling off three straight from deep by Sam Dorough, Everett Swindall and Max Brooks to make it 11-3. Bentley was in command of Hanceville’s offense, scoring on a driving layup and a mid-range jumper to respond to the ‘Cats run. A usual starter, big man Brooks Loftin finally checked in halfway through the quarter, and recorded a nice put-back layup and a swing pass out to Graves on a three. Cullman ended the first quarter up 18-9.
While acknowledging his appreciation for his senior class and noting their achievements, Stuedeman admitted the senior night tradition of starting all seniors can sometimes interfere with the team’s rhythm. He credited the unorthodox rotations to a slow start, despite the lead.
Dorough, recently returned from injury, gave the Bearcats a quick bucket to open the second quarter. After a three by Hanceville’s Sam Abney, Loftin began heating up inside. A two-handed jam, a pair of free throws and a smooth jumper from the elbow pushed Cullman towards another solid lead at the half, up 29-16.
With the area tournaments beginning this weekend, getting the Bearcats’ star duo of Dorough and Loftin back in rhythm has been a priority. In the third quarter, they showed they’re ready. In transition, Dorough found Loftin down-court on a football-style pass for a layup in the middle of the 15-0 run that opened the half. The ball movement, shot selection, press defense and activity on the boards all fueled the heater that had Cullman up 44-16 midway through the period. Hanceville’s Kade Schulz would hit two straight threes late in the third, but it was too steep a hill to climb.
Finishing the senior night game, Cullman had a chance to give some run to the young guns, with sophomore Sawyer Perry, freshman Costa Burks and Swindall, an eighth grader, all scoring to cap off a 62-30 win for the Bearcats.
Leading Cullman in scoring was sophomore Brooks Loftin, who finished the night with 12 points. Behind him, Fletcher finished with 10. Dorough, Swindall, Bryce Burden and Owen Graves all put up five.
“I love what we are defensively, we’re still trying to get our rhythm back offensively. We gotta start making shots, but our pressure, our defense can be elite. We will make some shots, we gotta keep getting good ones and keep rebounding,” Stuedeman said on his team heading into the area tournament. “Once we get that rhythm going, I think we’ll be a really dang good team.”
The Bearcats face Mortimer Jordan on Saturday at noon at Cullman High School in the first round of the 6A, Region 13 tournament. Cullman won both meetings this season, and would surely like to move on to the championship for a chance to knock off rival Jasper, who defeated them twice in their two meetings in January.
